AugerPrime: The Pierre Auger Observatory upgrade Anastasi, Gioacchino Alex
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
12/2022, Letnik:
1044
Journal Article
Recenzirano
After more than 15 years of successful data taking, the Pierre Auger Observatory started a major upgrade, called AugerPrime, whose main aim is the collection of new information about the primary mass ...of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, besides adding new indications on hadronic interactions at energies much larger than those reached in human-made accelerators. The upgrade program includes: the installation of a plastic scintillator detector (SSD) and of a radio antenna on top of each water-Cherenkov detector (WCD) of the surface array, an extension of the dynamic range of measurement through an additional small photomultiplier tube inside the WCD, new electronics to process signals from the WCD and the SSD with higher sampling frequency and enhanced resolution in amplitude. An array of underground scintillator detectors will measure the muonic component of lower energy extensive air showers. After presenting the motivations for upgrading the Observatory, an overview of the detectors is provided, together with the deployment and commissioning status.
In the framework of the upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory, a new high voltage module is being employed for the power supply of the 1-inch photomultiplier added to each water-Cherenkov detector ...of the surface array with the aim of increasing the dynamic range of the measurements. This module is located in a dedicated box near the electronics and comprises a low consumption DC-DC converter hosted inside an aluminum box. All the modules have undergone specific tests to verify their reliability in the extreme environmental conditions of the Argentinian pampa. In this paper, we describe the validation procedure and the facility developed to this aim. The successful results of the tests on the HVPS modules are presented and discussed.
